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CIC/SA/A/2015/000375
Ms. Divya Iyer Vs. Tihar Jail
(Video Conference Bangalore)
RTI/PIO:10-10/9-2-15(122
Disposed
directions
Hearing: 27-07-2015
Decision: 13-8-2015
of
with
CIC/SA/A/2015/000375
Page 1
Parties Present:
The appellant is not present for video conference at NIC centre,
Bangalore.
2.
taken
by
the
Home
Department,
Government
of
India
towards
the
interest, which engaged the Supreme Court, Legislature, Executive and the Law
Commission since a long time. The Home Ministry requested the State
Governments and Union Territories to adopt various measures to reduce
overcrowding of prisons. The Parliament by Act 25 of 2005 amended Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1973 providing for maximum period for which an under-trial
prisoner can be detained under any law not being an offence for which the
punishment of death has been specified one of the punishments. Section 436A
says:
436-A. Maximum period for which an under-trial prisoner can be detained
where a person has, during the period of investigation, inquiry or trial
under this Code of an offence under any law (not being an offence for
which the punishment of death has been specified as one of the
punishments under that law) undergone detention for a period extending
up to one-half of the maximum period of imprisonment specified for that
offence under that law, he shall be released by the Court on his personal
bond with or without sureties: Provided that the Court may, after hearing
the Public Prosecutor and for reasons to be recorded by it in writing, order
the continued detention of such person for a period longer than one-half
CIC/SA/A/2015/000375
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of the said period or release him on bail instead of the personal bond with
or without sureties: Provided further that no such person shall in any case
be detained during the period of investigation inquiry or trial for more
than the maximum period of imprisonment provided for the said offence
under that law. Explanation.- In Computing the period of detention under
this section for granting bail the period of detention passed due to delay in
proceeding caused by the accused shall be excluded.]
4.
a Review Committee in every district with the District Judge as Chairman, and
the District Magistrate and District SP as members to meet every three months
and review the cases. 2. Jail Superintendent should conduct a survey of all cases
where the UTPs have completed more than one-fourth of the maximum
sentence. He should prepare a survey list and send the same to the District
Legal Service Authority (DLSA) as well as the UT Review Committee. 3. Prison
authorities may educate under-trial prisoners on their rights to bail. 4. Provide
legal aid - may be provided through empanelled lawyers of DLSA to cases
presented for release on bail and reduction of bail amount. 5. The list should be
made available to the non-official visitors as well as District Magistrates/Judges
who conduct periodic inspections of the jails. 6. Home Department may also
develop management information system to ascertain the progress made jailwise in this regard. Action taken to implement the suggestions in all the jails
may kindly be intimated within one month.
6.
CIC/SA/A/2015/000375
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a) whether Review Committee has been set up in the District? If so, names,
contact numbers and designations of all members of the committee, if not
constituted, reasons for the same.
b) Whether jail superintendent has completed the survey of cases where the
UTPs have completed more than one-fourth of the maximum sentence and
sent it to District Legal Services Authority and UT Review Committee,
details thereof,
c) Whether UT prisoners were duty informed about their rights to bail, details
thereof,
d) Whether Legal Aid was provided to them for getting released on bail and
reduction of bail amount,
e) Whether list was made available to the non-official visitors as well as
District Magistrates/Judges
f) Whether Management Information System has been developed?
7.
PIO stated on 9.2.2015 that RTI request has been forwarded to PIO
Central Jail Tihar and District Jail Rohini. Information pertaining to Prison Head
Quarters was as under:
A (1&2). A proposal for constitution of a District under trial prisoner
review committee has been sent to Dy.Secretary(Home) GNCTD vide letter
23-12-14 and responsein this regard is still awaited.
E.
Board of Visitors has already been notified but the same is challenged
before Delhi High Court and is not fully functioning.
F. (1) Prisoner Management System and Visitor Management System
developed by National Informatics Centrerun in Central Jail Tihar in all the
jails for keeping prisoners information and their visitors record
respectively.
(2) The said Management Information system is used to store all details
of prisoners and their visitors. This is web based software run on internet.
(3) As per information received from all jails, two UTPs were found
eligible under section 436 A of CR.PC during 1-10-2014 to 30-11-14 and
out of them one UTP was released and other UTP was released in this case
but detained in other multiple cases
(4) N/A
8.
Superintendent from Jail No. 5 said that, being a convict jail, their jail does
The Honble Supreme Court in Vijay Aggarwal v. Union of India & Ors.
W.P. (Crl) No. 32/2013 on 05 September, 2014 issued several directions relating
CIC/SA/A/2015/000375
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(ii)
In its sitting in jail, the above judicial officers shall identify the undertrial prisoners who have completed half period of the maximum period
or maximum period of imprisonment provided for the said offence
under the law and
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
At the end of two months, the Registrar General of each High Court
shall submit the report to the Secretary General of this Court without
any delay. To facilitate the compliance of the above order, we direct the
jail Superintendent of each jail/prison to provide all necessary facilities
for holding the court sitting by the above judicial officers. A Copy of
this Order shall be sent to the Registrar General of each High Court,
who in turn will communicate the copy of the order to all Sessions
Judges within his State for necessary compliance.
10.
Magistrates/Sessions Judge shall hold one sitting in a week in each jail/prison for
two months commencing from 1st October, 2014 for the purposes of effective
implementation of Section 436-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure. In its sitting
in jail, the above judicial officers shall identify the under-trial prisoners who have
completed half period of the maximum period or maximum period of
imprisonment provided for the said offence under the law and after complying
with the procedure prescribed under Section 436-A pass an appropriate order in
jail itself for release of such under-trial prisoners who fulfill the requirement of
Section 436-A for their release immediately. Such jurisdictional Magistrate/Chief
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Judicial Magistrate/ Sessions Judge shall submit the report of each of such sitting
to the Registrar General of the High Court and at the end of two months, the
Registrar General of each High Court shall submit the report to the Secretary
General of this Court without any delay. To facilitate the compliance of the above
order, we direct the jail Superintendent of each jail/prison to provide all
necessary facilities for holding the court sitting by the above judicial officers. A
Copy of this Order shall be sent to the Registrar General of each High Court, who
in turn will communicate the copy of the order to all Sessions Judges within his
State for necessary compliance.
11.
In Bhim Singh v Union of India, Write Petition (Crl) No. 310 of 2005
This order was given on two different PILs seeking courts order for
constitution of fast track court so that their cases can be expeditiously disposed
of or releases the prisoners on bail as they have been languishing in jail for
several years for petty offences.
13.
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14.
The Supreme Court also made it clear that there is no need for lawyers to
be present while judicial officers take decision for release of prisoners and asked
the judicial officers to file compliance report with the Registrar General of
concerned high court after finishing the assignment. Thereafter the registrar
general of high courts shall file report with the secretary general of the Supreme
Court.
15.
The Supreme Court on 18 th May 2015 directed the National Legal Services
Authority to coordinate with the Union Home Ministry to ensure urgent review of
their cases for granting them bail. A Social Justice Bench of Justices Madan B.
Lokur and U.U. Lalit noted that 67 per cent of those lodged in the prisons in
the country are under-trials who are too poor to get bail, the Supreme Court
has. It has given one month to ensure the functioning of the Under-trial
Review Committee in every district in the country. The objective of the Undertrial Review Committee in every district in the country is to implement Section
436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which allows this concession. The idea
of
forming
the
committees,
each
comprising
the
District
Judge,
the
and former Director of National Police Academy has opined (in Pioneer on 5 th
CIC/SA/A/2015/000375
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June 2015) that lodging under-trial prisoners with the convicted prisoners leads
to contamination of crime. Many callow and inexperienced young men
coming in contact with hard-boiled criminals get coarsened and
criminalized. It is known that many of the gangsters recruit members of the
criminal gangs out of these borderline yet redeemable offenders admitted in
jails.
18.
(http://www.rti.india.gov.in/cic_decisions/
CIC_SA_A_2015_000964_M_161038.pdf)
19.
The All India Jail Committee, known as the Mullah Committee, had
strongly
recommended
that
there
should
be
separate
institutions
for
accommodating under-trial prisoners and they should be located near the court
premises to reduce the problems and hazards of transporting the prisoners.
20.
1979 SC1819), the Supreme Court it was held Ordinarily when a person is
accused of more than one offence, the sentences of imprisonment imposed are
directed to run concurrently but assuming the sentences of imprisonment be
consecutive, the under-trial prisoners here have suffered incarceration for the
maximum period for which they could be sent to jail on conviction for multiple
offences. There is absolutely no reason why the under trials be allowed to
continue in jail for a moment longer since such continuance of detention would
be violative not only of human dignity but also of their fundamental right under
Art.21. The Supreme Court had interpreted that the right to life and personal
liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution of India includes the right to speedy
justice, which includes the right to free legal aid. The NHRC has drawn the
attention of the Chief Justices of the High Courts to the delays in the grant of
CIC/SA/A/2015/000375
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001155 SA
authorized to be released from prisons under its custody as per the Supreme
Court order in Bhim Singh v Union of India directing implementation of
Section 436 A of CrPC.
22.
The Commission would like to add another duty, the duty to inform also to
the authorities, which will facilitate the release, or enable prisoner or any other
person to demand release based on the information made available.
The
entitled to that release as per Section 436A, will amount to serious violation of
their right to life under Article 21 of Constitution. For this violation no amount of
compensation would be sufficient. Hence the authorities must prevent the
breach of Article 21 by implementation of Section 436A.
25.
The Commission directs the authorities of Tihar Jail and Rohini Jail, to
provide a)
Page 9
consequences like review committee meetings, etc within 20 days from the date
of receipt of this order to the appellant, which shall also be disclosed under
Section 4(1)(b) of RTI Act in their official website.
26.
The respondent authority has to prepare FAQs on this subject and upload
the same into the official website within one month from the date of receipt of
this order, to facilitate the under-trial prisoners to seek release on bail as per
Section 436A of CrPC and judicial orders referred above.
2.
3.
CIC/SA/A/2015/000375
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